If you want to brighten things up in your home and instantly change your decor based on your mood, smart light bulbs are the best way to do it. There’s nothing else out there so simple and affordable that has such a dramatic impact on the look of a room. But there are dozens upon dozens of options out there, so which smart light bulbs should you get? The expert product reviewers at BGR tested 52 different smart light bulbs, and we’ve picked the best ones based on which features you prioritize.
Our top picks
- Best overall: Kasa Smart Light Bulbs
- Best white bulbs: Sengled S1 Smart Light Bulbs
- Best bulbs with Matter: OREiN Matter Smart Bulbs
- Best Edison bulbs: MOES ST64 Smart Edison Light Bulbs
- Best BR30 bulbs: Govee BR30 Smart Light Bulbs
Those bulbs are all excellent choices, and you really can’t go wrong with any of them. If you want to know specifically why we picked these winners in each category, you’ll find our quick reviews down below.
1. Best overall: Kasa Smart Light Bulbs
Pros: Inexpensive, reliable, no hub required, wide compatibility, multicolor, great app
Cons: Some people have connectivity issues
After testing more than 50 different types of smart light bulbs, we chose Kasa Smart Light Bulbs as our favorites.
For those who are unaware, Kasa is a sub-brand of TP-Link, which is obviously a very well-known brand that has been around for quite a long time. TP-Link spun Kasa off as its smart home brand, and there are tons of different smart home products that the company offers.
All that is to say two things. First, Kasa comes from a company that’s known for its high-quality networking products. And second, there are tons of different Kasa products on offer, so you can build out your smart home setup with Kasa smart light bulbs, smart light switches, video doorbells, security cameras, and so on. That way, you can control everything with one app!
Kasa Smart Light Bulbs themselves are terrific. They’re bright, easy to set up, easy to use, and reliable. Also important is the fact that they only require your regular Wi-Fi network for connectivity, not a special hub.
The Kasa app for iPhone and Android is laid out very well so that controlling your light bulbs and creating automations or schedules is simple. We also like that these smart light bulbs work with other popular smart home platforms, like Alexa, Google Home, and SmartThings.
We didn’t find any downsides when testing these bulbs, though some user reviews mention difficulty with connectivity. If we had to guess, it probably boils down to either user error or compatibility issues with some older Wi-Fi routers.
2. Best white bulbs: Sengled S1 Smart Light Bulbs
Pros: VERY inexpensive, easy to set up, good brightness
Cons: Only work with Alexa
Of all the white smart light bulbs we tried, the Sengled S1 Smart Light Bulbs were our favorites. There’s one big caveat with our top pick, however: These smart light bulbs only work with Amazon Alexa.
That seems like a pretty big caveat, but it’s actually not the deal-breaker that some people might think it is. In our polling over the years, we found that practically all of our readers own at least a few Alexa devices like an Echo smart speaker or an Echo Show smart display.
As long as you own an Alexa device, Sengled’s S1 Smart Light Bulbs are pretty much perfect. They’re insanely inexpensive at just $3.33 each when you buy a 6-pack for $19.99. They also couldn’t be any easier to set up, thanks to auto-pairing. You literally just screw in the light bulb, and you’re done.
These bulbs can be controlled with your voice using Alexa voice commands, or you can set up automations and schedules. They’re also dimmable from 5% to 100% brightness, so it’s easy to set the mood.
3. Best bulbs with Matter: OREiN Matter Smart Bulbs
Pros: Matter support, support for other popular platforms, inexpensive, easy to use
Cons: None
OREiN Matter Smart Bulbs are by far the best smart light bulbs we tested that support Matter. Honestly, you shouldn’t even bother with any other brand if you want Matter support.
In case you don’t know, Matter is a standardized smart home protocol that was created by a consortium of big companies. The goal is to have one universal standard instead of all the annoying proprietary smart home platforms we have now. Lots of big brands are on board, so many people out there will only buy Matter-compatible smart home devices so they can ensure broad compatibility.
These OREiN bulbs are truly terrific. They’re multicolor bulbs that are shockingly affordable, considering their wide compatibility. In addition to Matter, they also support Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, SmartThings, and more.
We found that these bulbs are wonderfully easy to set up, and they stay connected reliably. You can tune them across 16 million colors, and they’re rated to last for 25,000 hours of use. Long story short, they’ll probably outlive you. They’re also dimmable, of course.
In our testing, we didn’t find any negatives worth mentioning. We also dug through hundreds of user reviews and didn’t find any common problems that people complained about.
4. Best Edison bulbs: MOES ST64 Smart Edison Light Bulbs
Pros: Beautiful design, multicolor, Alexa/Google compatibility, easy to use
Cons: Pricey, not everyone likes the look when they’re turned off
If you’re shopping for Edison-style smart light bulbs, you’ll probably find that most options are the same. There are a few outliers, though, and MOES ST64 Smart Edison Light Bulbs are our favorite.
These sleek Edison bulbs have a few different features that separate them from the pack.
First, they have an awesome spiral filament design instead of the boring straight lines that you’ll find on most smart Edison bulbs.
Also, many other smart Edison bulbs out there are only white. These MOES bulbs are multicolor, however, so you can tune them to the exact color and shade you want. This gives you an awesome effect that you can’t get with most other Edison bulbs out there.
These bulbs are very easy to set up, and they stay connected reliably. They also work with popular platforms like Alexa and Google, in addition to the free smartphone app.
On the flip side, these bulbs are a bit more expensive than normal smart bulbs, but that should be expected with any Edison bulb design. Also, not everyone likes the look of the thick filaments and wires inside the bulb when it’s turned off.
5. Best BR30 bulbs: Govee BR30 Smart Light Bulbs
Pros: Bright, easy to use, Alexa/Google compatibility, multicolor, reliable, good app
Cons: Pricey
All of the other smart light bulbs in this guide are A19 bulbs that fit most of the common light fixtures and lamps out there. But what about all of the floodlight-style bulbs in your ceiling fixtures, basement, backyard, and so on?
If you want BR30 bulbs, it doesn’t get any better than the Govee BR30 Smart Light Bulbs.
These multicolor Wi-Fi smart light bulbs support 16 million different colors, and they get nice and bright. Brightness is very important for BR30 bulbs, since they’re often situated on high ceilings or outdoors.
The Govee app is simple and easy to use, so you can quickly create schedules or tune your bulbs. Also, Alexa and Google Home support means you can integrate with other devices or use voice commands.
The only downside worth mentioning really isn’t much of a downside at all. These bulbs are a bit more expensive than many common smart bulbs out there, but you should expect to pay more for any BR30 bulb since they’re so much larger than A19 bulbs.
